How an ERP adapts to business change

In doing business, it is natural for an organisation to face a variety of changes,

such as changes in tax law, changes in consumer behaviour, changes in the cost of various raw materials, and so on.

Many organisations may worry that, once they have implemented an ERP, how flexible the ERP will be, or how far they will be able to adjust it to support change.

In reality, an ERP can adjust its system structure, or even be customised, so that it fits a changing business environment.

This article discusses “how an ERP adapts to business change”, with the following topics:

1. An ERP can adjust its data structure
2. An ERP can adjust its workflow
3. An ERP can adjust its connections

The details of each topic are as follows:

1. An ERP can adjust its data structure

An ERP can adjust its data structure to fit changing business needs.

Adjusting the data structure includes things such as adding or removing new data fields.

This structural adjustment helps the system collect data that is consistent with a changing business environment.

2. An ERP can adjust its workflow

An ERP is a system with relatively high flexibility and freedom to be adjusted.

Adjusting an ERP’s workflow can be done through customisation — whether that is customising the ERP to fit the organisation’s specific way of working, or even customising the ERP to fit a changing business environment.

This customisation keeps the ERP current and able to support changing business processes well.

3. An ERP can adjust its connections

The way an ERP works together with external systems, and the connection of an ERP to other external data sources, can be adjusted

so that the ERP supports changes occurring in the business environment.

System developers or ERP administrators can use an API (Application Programming Interface) as a tool to make the connection and interoperation of various applications easier and more efficient, in order to support changes in the business workflow.

In summary, an ERP is a highly flexible system that can be customised — both customising it to fit the organisation’s way of working and customising it to fit business change. Linking with various data from other applications can also be done.

So an organisation can be confident that an ERP is a system that is being developed all the time, to stay current and to support the organisation’s use, even when change occurs.